All Because of Her
by DinosXGoXRawr
Summary: Something about her made him go insane. Whenever she was around, he lost all of his senses. Right now, he couldn't even see anything except her, beautiful Cat Valentine standing on the sidewalk, looking up at the sky and savoring the splendor of the day.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I've decided that I think I'm ready to come back after my week or so of break from the site. This is a new fic that I just wrote the first chapter to in like, thirty minutes. Sorry if it sucks. The first part's pretty short, but the chapters will get longer as they progress. Leave a review and tell me what you think. I take constructive criticism, as long as it makes sense. **

Robbie Shapiro was in desperate need of someone's help. He had been assigned by Sikowitz to star in the new production at Hollywood Arts, and he didn't understand why he had gotten the lead role. He was a terrible actor, as everyone knew. Everything he ever did was failure, and the only reason that he was even able to attend Hollywood Arts was because he could play guitar and sing. Why did he have this lead part? Why didn't Sikowitz give it to someone like Beck or Andre, or someone that actually had potential?

As this confusion was sinking in, Robbie realized that he had more than two hundred lines to memorize before this Friday, but he couldn't concentrate. Everything was wrong with him, it seemed. And one of those issues was that he wasn't able to memorize lines for anything. What was he supposed to do? He would get a bad grade if he wasn't able to pull off this part, he knew it.

"Why would you do this to me?" he said to himself as he walked down the street, holding his script down so he wouldn't be tempted to look at it. "I thought you loved me. I thought you…" He stopped, completely forgetting what the next part of the line was. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes and trying with all his might to remember the rest of his long line. Nothing came to him. He looked at the script and silently read over the line that he had screwed up on, and then he took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind.

That's when his phone started vibrating in his pocket, and he knew that he would be too distracted to even think about learning lines now. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was only a text from telling him all about his friends' status updates. Like he could care right now.

He plopped down on a bench on the sidewalk and stared across the street, not really at anything in particular. He just felt like a failure, and that feeling would never leave him. He had felt like that his entire life, ever since he started doing plays at the community theatre and always getting compared to people who did a whole lot better than him. All he had ever wanted his whole life was to be an actor, but it didn't look like this dream was going to be fulfilled. If he couldn't do this simple little part for a stupid school project, how was he supposed to do professional work?

That's when he saw her. She was coming out of the store right across the street, carrying a bag that was loaded with brand new clothes that she had just bought. She had the brightest smile in the world on her face, and her brown eyes were obviously alight with excitement about something. She had a bounce in her step, like she always did whenever she walked. But it wasn't a weird kind of bounce. It was cute and innocent, like she was carefree about everything in the world. Her bright red hair shone in the evening sunlight, and she raised her head up to the sky and smiled even wider. She was soaking up the sunshine and just basking in the joy of life.

_Look over here, look over here. _Robbie had admired her ever since the day he met her. She was a bit ditzy and bipolar, but she was high on life and nothing was ever able to bring her down. She had been hurt so many times, and he had seen her get hurt and insulted, but she always held her head high and smiled at the world. He wished that he could handle life's struggles like she could.

Honestly, she wasn't just his ditzy friend. She was so much more than that. She had kissed him when he thought that he was in love with Trina, just to prove that stage kisses didn't mean anything. He could still taste her on his lips, even though that was months and months ago. Something about her made him go insane, and whenever she was around, he lost all of his senses. Right now, he couldn't even see anything except her, beautiful Cat Valentine standing on the sidewalk, looking up at the sky and savoring the splendor of the day.

Cat didn't look over at him. Instead, she pulled her phone out from the pocket in her short skirt and walked away, typing away about something that would probably be sent to The Slap. Why did she have to be so perfect? And why couldn't she just look at him and realize that they could be so much more than friends?

His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out of his pocket again. Sure enough, there was a text alerting him what Cat had just posted. _The sun is smiling at me, and big, puffy clouds are throwing a party in my honor. Such a pretty day!_

Not as pretty as you, he wanted to say, but he resisted the temptation and looked back down at his script. He knew now that his mind would be fuzzed for the rest of the day, and it would be impossible to learn anything in this state that he was in. And it was all because of that gorgeous Cat Valentine.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so the first chapter was just a starter, nothing major. Sorry about that. But it gets better, I promise. I'm also going to be posting a Beck/Jade fic in a few days, so be looking out for that. Thanks for reading. Reviews are nice. (:**

"Sikowitz?" Robbie asked as soon as he walked into his improv class the next morning. "I don't think I can do this part." He placed his script on the desk at the back of the room, knowing that this was his last chance to get things right. But it had been blown, and he couldn't take it back. He was a failure.

"Yes, you can." Sikowitz picked up the papers and placed them back in Robbie's hand. "Go look over your lines a couple more times. Be ready by Friday." With that, he grabbed his coconut sitting on the desk and began drinking its milk out of a straw. Apparently it gave him visions.

Robbie wanted to throw the script across the room and go on a rampage, let everyone know his true feelings about all of this, but he didn't do anything of the sort. Instead, he stuffed the script in his backpack and sat down in his normal seat with Rex.

"I could only stay for a while. My parents would never accept us together," he recited, but he had no idea what came next. He didn't even pull out the script to check on the line. He didn't want to.

Cat came in only a few minutes later and sat down in her normal seat at the front of the room, far away from him. She had on a bright pink and black dress that looked stunning on her darker complexion and didn't even clash with that crazy red hair of hers. It stopped mid-thigh, and he couldn't help but stare at her smooth, slender legs. As she turned around to talk to one of their classmates, he watched her carefully. If only he could kiss her lips one more time, then he would be satisfied.

"Dude, you're staring at her again."

Robbie jumped and turned around to see Beck sitting down next to him. How did he know anything about his infatuation with Cat? He had never told him anything. The best thing to do was to act completely clueless.

"Um…staring at who? What are you talking about?" He smiled his goofy smile and tried to act like nothing was wrong, but he knew it wouldn't be convincing. He was horrible at acting.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." Yep, he wasn't very convincing. "I've seen you looking at her. You like her."

He might as well tell him. What was the harm? "Alright, I like Cat. A lot. But you can't tell anyone. Not even Jade…well, especially Jade. Don't say anything."

Beck shrugged and looked across the room at Cat, who seemed to be flirting with the guy behind her. "I won't. But if you want her, you need to do something fast. She moves around a lot, and you never know when she'll start dating someone new."

That one hurt. As much as Robbie didn't want to admit it, he knew that he had no chance with the girl. She flitted around to different boys like they were flowers, and they were only satisfactory to her for so long. And even if he could get her, how long could he keep her? She would grow tired of him in time and move on to someone else.

The bell rang, signaling that class was beginning. Sikowitz was picking a group to act out a scene in the game that they would be playing today. Robbie didn't want him to pick him. He was already messed up enough. The last thing he needed was to screw up some more in front of the class.

"Oh, one last thing before we start this," Sikowitz said as he scanned the room of people who hadn't been chosen. Robbie was one of them, thank God. "Robbie needs help on his lines for the play. Cat, you'll help him, right?"

"Of course!" Cat exclaimed, turning around in her seat and smiling warmly at Robbie.

Robbie's whole body shut down. He was unable to return a smile to her. All he could do was gaze at her, completely forgetting everything in the world except for the fact that she was helping him learn his lines. This was going to be a huge mistake. He would never be able to learn lines with her around.

Beck clapped him on the shoulder, gaining his attention again. "Looks like this is your chance," he said.

No, this wasn't his chance for anything. This was going to end disastrously.

….

She was skipping down the sidewalk, humming a cheerful tune and twirling happily in circles from time to time. What was so happy about today that made her want to dance and sing? Robbie wanted to join in with her, but what reason did he have to join? His life was nothing but blank and boring. Plus, he was holding Rex and refused to put him down.

"I was thinking that we could go to the park," Cat said, finally turning around to him. She pushed her hair out of her face and smiled a little, waiting for his approval. "Is that okay?"

"That's fine," Robbie replied, although he had a feeling that the park was the last place that Cat needed to be.

Her lips parted as if she was going to say something else to him, but then she stopped herself and latched her arm with his. She then started skipping again, carrying Robbie with her. He didn't mind this at all.

…

Robbie was right; Cat didn't belong at the park when they were trying to work on schoolwork. She was leaping in the air trying to catch butterflies and chasing after squirrels skittering across the grass. He knew that she would calm down when she had had her fun, but for now, she was an innocent little girl playing games on her own and entertaining herself.

"So where do you want to start in the script?" Cat asked once she had used up all of her energy and sat down in the grass. "The beginning?"

"Might as well," Robbie replied, setting Rex aside and clearing his mind once again. He couldn't let her distract him. "You start."

She opened the script and curled her legs closer to her. She was obviously not comfortable this way, because she then flipped over and lay on her stomach. "Where were you last night?"

"Why does it matter to you? You've never cared much about me." He was getting it. Now he just had to get through the rest of the script.

"It matters because you leave me by myself every night, and I hate being alone. I just want to know that you still love me." She looked up from the script and stared straight at him, her big brown eyes shining brightly with excitement.

Why did she have to look at him? He knew the next line, he really did. But now his mind was completely wiped clean of all knowledge, and all he could do was stare right back into her eyes and allow himself to get lost in them. He was so vulnerable at the moment. "I…you don't…" He sighed and broke their eye contact, and he rolled over on his stomach as well so he wouldn't have to look at her. He didn't want to look at her anymore.

"Do you need to look over the script some more before we go over it?" she asked, trying to sound hopeful. There was no way she could actually think that he could pull this off.

"Just forget it." His voice was muffled underneath his arms. "I'll figure something out."

There was a silence between them for a few seconds, and then he heard her move. Before he knew it, she was lying on her back right next to him, looking directly at him. "Truth or dare?"

He peeked out from underneath his arms, which he was using to shield his face away from hers, but he had to look at her for this. Was she being serious? Truth or Dare had never ended well for him, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to play it with her. She would most definitely be able to pull the truth out of him. But he wasn't going to do a dare in a public place. There was no telling what he would be forced to do.

"Truth."

Her mouth twisted up and her forehead crinkled as she thought about what she was going to ask him. "Okay, what do you plan on doing after we leave Hollywood Arts?"

That wasn't a very hard question to answer, and he was thankful that that was all she had asked him. "Well, I wanted to start acting in movies, but I can't even do this lousy play for the school. So forget that. I'll think of something."

She took a breath, and Robbie watched her chest rise and fall as she gazed at the sky. "Stage acting is harder than movie acting," she said. "I think you could do it, if you really wanted to do it. Or you could be an awesome ventriloquist."

Ventriloquist? Those were people that dealt with puppets. Never in his life had he dealt with a puppet. Well, people kept telling him that Rex was a puppet, but he didn't believe them. "Ventriloquist? What do you mean?"

She glanced over at Rex, sitting lifeless on the green grass, and then she looked at Robbie again. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by that. You could be a comedian."

Robbie rolled his eyes. That was the last thing that he could be. "How? I'm not funny."

"I think you're funny."

That comment was bittersweet to him. For some reason, that was all he needed to hear to make him have a little faith in himself, but it was also nothing special because Cat thought everything was funny. He didn't know if he should take it as a compliment.

"Thanks, but no one else does," he decided on saying.

Cat sighed and flipped over on her side so that she could look at him. "Does it matter what anyone else thinks? What do you want to do with your life?"

Robbie rolled over on his side as well, shifting uncomfortably as he did so. "I want to act."

"Then you're going to act." She smiled a little and placed her hand over his. Robbie felt goose bumps form on his arm, and he hoped that she didn't notice. "If that's what you want to do with your life, then you'll work hard to make it happen. I believe in you."

If Cat believed in him, then he knew he could do whatever he wanted to. He could learn those lines in the next three days and perform on Saturday night. He was going to make it happen. "You know, everyone always thinks you're so scatterbrained, but I think there's more to you than that," he said.

Cat sighed and removed her hand from his, and she began playing with a piece of grass. "Not everything is always what it seems. I have a brain; I just don't like to use it a lot because there are more important things in life than being smart. If that makes sense." Her eyes moved from the piece of grass up to Robbie's eyes, waiting for his response.

"It makes perfect sense, Cat," he told her, laughing a little at her. She was so cute.

Seeing Robbie laugh made her giggle a little as well, and she rose from the ground and picked up the script by her side. "So are you ready to get to work on the first scene now?"

Robbie shook his head as he sat up and took the script out of her hands. "No, you got to ask me something, and now it's my turn. Truth or dare?"

She smiled, and the script was completely forgotten. The rest of the day was spent playing that ridiculous game, that game that always ended up ruining Robbie's life, and they got to learn things about each other that they never would have guessed to be true. This game of Truth or Dare, however, didn't ruin Robbie's life. He didn't mind sharing information with Cat, because it seemed like she understood him more than anyone else in the world did. And he understood her too.

On his way home that night, Robbie felt confident about every move that he made. Those lines would be memorized by Friday, and the play was going to be performed on Saturday night. He would receive a good grade from Sikowitz, and then he would go on to become a world-famous actor. For once, he had a little faith in himself. And it was all because of her.

.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to post again. And so so sorry that this chapter is kind of short. I put it on a flashdrive and planned on uploading at my friend's house, but that didn't happen because it wouldn't transfer onto her computer. But enough about that. Hope you enjoy! Read and review. (:**

"Sophia, you don't have to do this," Robbie said as he paced the stage of the Black Box Theatre. "You can't do this. I love you more than he could ever love you. Why can't you see that?"

"Because all we do is fight, Derek," Cat exclaimed as she crossed to him. "When I'm with him, it feels like we're meant to be. He treats me like I mean something to him. I'm tired of fighting, Derek. I can't do it anymore."

"I know you love me," Robbie said, turning to face her. "You keep saying that you hate me, but I know you're lying. I can prove to you that you don't hate me."

Cat closed the script and held it at her side, staring at him like she expected something from him. Robbie didn't understand what she was doing, and he was momentarily distracted. He was doing so well. They were so close to the end of the play. And Cat was just standing there.

"Cat, it's your line."

Cat pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, the script says that you kiss me. I'm waiting for you."

Robbie was taken aback. She was only assigned to help him with lines, not blocking too. He didn't know what he was supposed to tell her, because he hadn't even rehearsed this with the girl that was playing opposite him in the play. "Um…well, I thought that we were just working on lines…"

Cat rolled her eyes. "Robbie, get over it. It's just a stage kiss. Don't you want to get your part down by this Friday?" She paused for him to answer, and he nodded. "Alright, then you're going to do exactly what the script tells you. I don't want you to kiss this girl and make it look unrealistic. Did the director tell you anything about how he wanted this to look?"

Robbie did not want to do this, but she was being incredibly pushy. "Uh…he told us that it had to last for at least five seconds."

Cat smiled. "Okay, so just count to five in your head. And…go!" She inched closer to him, but he started to back away.

He wanted to kiss her. So, so badly he wanted to kiss her. But he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to stop. And she would probably find out that he liked her as more than a friend. He couldn't let that happen. She didn't return the feelings.

"Cat…can we take a break? And then we can start again, okay?"

She was bouncing up and down on the stage, and then she suddenly stopped. "Alright, fine. I need to use the bathroom anyway. Meet me back in here in five minutes." She beamed at him, showing off her perfect white teeth, and then she darted out the door toward the bathroom.

As soon as Robbie was sure that she was gone, he pulled out his phone and dialed Beck's number. Beck was probably his best friend, and there was no one else that could help him in this situation better than him. He always knew what to do.

"Hello?" Beck answered, sounding like he had been asleep or something.

"Beck? Can you talk right now?"

He didn't answer immediately. It sounded like he was talking to someone in the background, but Robbie couldn't figure out who it was. "Only for a minute. I'm with Jade."

"Oh…sorry," Robbie said awkwardly, not really knowing what else he could say to him. "Listen, I'm with Cat right now, and she wants me to kiss her."

"That's great! Why are you talking to me then?"

Robbie rolled his eyes and then looked at the door, making sure that Cat wasn't about to walk in. "I don't want to. I mean, I want to, but I can't. I'm nervous, I guess?" Once again, he peeked at the door.

"Don't be nervous. If she wants you to kiss her, then she might like you too. Just do it. There's nothing to be nervous about. Just try to act cool about it, and- OW!" He then began to curse like Robbie had never heard anyone do before.

"Beck?" Robbie questioned, because there seemed to be a lot of commotion on the other side of the phone. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Jade just kicked me and it kind of hurt-" Then the phone line went dead, and Robbie was left alone once again.

_Be cool about it. _He looked around the room, trying to get a hold of himself, but he was growing more and more uneasy by the second. Three shaky breaths later and he still didn't feel any better. The door opened, and Cat came back in.

"Ready?" she asked as she applied a fresh coat of lip gloss.

Robbie gulped and tried to act nonchalant about the whole ordeal, but inside, he was completely falling apart. "Sure, sure. I'm ready."

Cat hopped back up on the stage and came face-to-face with him. For a second, his breath got caught in his throat, and he thought he was going to be sick. There was no way he was going to be able to kiss her. She was just too perfect, and he was nothing compared to her. How was he supposed to get through this?

"I…I know you love me," he stumbled through his last line. "You keep saying that you hate me…but I know y-you're lying. I can prove to you that you don't hate me."

His line was finished. Now he had no choice. She was standing in front of him, looking angelic in the bright lights of the stage, and he had no choice but to kiss her. He was about to make a fool of himself.

He took a step closer to her, trying to calm his breathing before she noticed anything, and slowly he pressed his lips against hers. _1…2…_He didn't want to finish counting because this is what felt right to him. He wanted to remain like this forever, her body pushed up against his, warm and inviting and perfect, just like everything else about her.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself. He snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her as close to him as she could possibly go, and the script fell from her hands as her arms were wrapped around his neck. She tilted her head to deepen the kiss, and then her hands moved from his neck to his hair. She was running her hands through his hair and eventually down his chest. He was trying to stop himself, but he couldn't. Fireworks were exploding in his head, and he couldn't even remember where he was or who he was or what he was doing or anything about the current situation because he was kissing Cat, and that's all he needed.

She was the one to pull away, and Robbie had to struggle with all of his might not to grab her and kiss her again. "What number did you get to?" she asked.

He had stopped counting after five. "Um…five," he told her truthfully, because he didn't even remember anything that had happened before or after he kissed her. His head was spinning, and he felt like he could faint any second now.

Cat raised an eyebrow and stared at him like he was insane, but then she smiled. "That's interesting. I got to fifteen."

With that, she picked up the script and stated the next line, but Robbie knew that he knew the script backwards and forwards by now. He didn't need her help anymore. He couldn't have her help anymore. Because she drove him completely insane and caused his senses to shut down. He would never be able to concentrate. The next two days were up to him and him alone to prepare for this performance.

As Robbie walked home from the school that night, there was another thing that he knew. He knew that he was totally and completely in love with Cat Valentine, and he would do anything in the world to make her his own. This was the first time that he had ever felt this strongly toward a girl. And it was all because she was so pushy and persistent.


	4. Chapter 4

**So all I need to say right now is just how grateful I am for all of you guys reading this. It makes my day. (: This is possibly one of my favorite chapters I've written so far, but the next is my FAVORITE. See the bottom for a hint. ;)**

Robbie couldn't concentrate on anything the next couple of days. His play was going up, and he was more than ready for it, but he didn't know how he was supposed to perform. Cat was going to be there, and if he saw her, he would surely freeze up on stage. He couldn't let that happen.

"I just don't know what to do," Robbie said as he plopped down on his bed and sighed. "Do you think I should ask her out?"

"Why would a girl go out with you?" Rex replied in his harsh tone that he always used.

Robbie stared down at the foot of the bed, where Rex was lying on his back and looking up at the ceiling as well. Rex wasn't moving…living, breathing people always moved. And Rex was just lying there, no rise and fall in his chest as he breathed. It's because he didn't breathe…he wasn't alive.

Why hadn't Robbie realized this before? Rex was not alive. Rex never gave him advice or insulted him all those years. That was Robbie putting himself down. Rex's voice was his own. Rex was a puppet. And all those years, Robbie thought that he was a friend to confide in, someone to help him through the day and someone to help him communicate. What was wrong with him? Why was he just now realizing that Rex was merely a puppet?

"You're just a puppet…" he murmured. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and even in private, he felt stupid crying over something like this. He quickly wiped away the tears, but they just kept coming. Rex was his oldest friend, and he no longer felt like a brother to Robbie. He was nothing, completely meaningless.

Without thinking, he grabbed the inanimate puppet and threw him against the wall, causing a shoe to fly off of Rex's foot. He felt cheated and alone now, and he continued to let the tears fall.

There was a knock on his bedroom door, and his mother entered. "Robbie, you have a friend out here. Can she come in, or do you want me to tell her to come back another time?"

Robbie looked up at his mom from where he sat on the floor, and he could tell that she thought he was being irrational. She always thought he was being irrational. "Is it Cat?" he asked, because she was the only person that he wanted to see right now.

"Um…I'm not sure. She's kind of jumpy, red hair-"

"She can come in."

He scrambled to his feet and started shoving dirty clothes and other various items wherever they would fit, and he sat down on his bed just as Cat walked in with her usual cheery smile on her face.

"Hey, Robbie! I was just coming by to make sure that you didn't need to run lines one more time before the performance tomorrow night. I just want you to be prepared." She looked rather awkward standing in his room, like she didn't know what she needed to do. She just remained standing a few feet away from the bed.

"I think I'm okay on lines," Robbie responded, not looking at her in the eyes. He thought that seeing her would make him feel a lot better, but it didn't. He still felt like someone had punched him in the throat. "Rex is a puppet."

Cat gasped. She automatically knew that Robbie just found out by himself, and she knew that it had to be hurting him inside. "I'm so sorry, Robbie. I really wish that you didn't have to find out like this." She walked over to the bed and placed a hand on Robbie's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

There were a million things that Cat could do to make him feel better, but he didn't want to say anything out loud. Besides, just talking to her about his problems was starting to take a little weight off of him, and she actually sounded like she really cared about his pain.

"There's Oreos on my nightstand and a gallon of milk in my mini-refrigerator. Can you bring me some?"

Cat giggled a little, and Robbie wanted to know what he had said that was so funny. But he didn't ask, because the sound of her laugh made him smile.

"Sorry," she apologized. "It's just that when I get upset, I like eating cookies too. They make me happy." She smiled brightly and hopped up from the bed, and she began rummaging through Robbie's mini-refrigerator for the milk. When she found it, she pulled it out and poured it into two glasses in the cabinet. She grabbed the cookies and returned to the bed.

"You have everything in your room," she said as she dipped one of the cookies in the milk and shoved it in her mouth. "You must get hungry a lot at night."

Robbie shook his head. "Not really. I just don't like sharing a refrigerator with my parents. There's just so much I'm allergic to, you know. I prefer to just keep all my food in my room."

Cat tilted her head to the side. "Didn't you tell me you were lactose intolerant one time?"

Robbie nodded and continued eating. "Lactose-free milk. They make everything nowadays." He paused, as if in deep thought, and then looked up at her. "Rex and I have been friends since second grade."

"I know," Cat replied softly, and he could tell that she really did care, unlike the rest of his friends would. "Life was never promised to be easy. You have to lose some friends along the path, and you gain others. It's a rough journey, but it always makes you stronger."

Robbie was having a hard time taking her seriously. She had never said anything intellectual or remotely meaningful when other people were around. Why was she being so deep now? "Cat, that's…so unlike you to say that."

Cat's smile fell, and she looked like someone had just hit her. "I'm sorry…"

He laughed. She looked so upset, like she had done something wrong. "No, don't apologize. I like it. You always know what to tell me to make me feel better."

The corner of her mouth twitched like she wanted to smile, but she didn't. "I'm glad that I can make someone happy. Most people think I'm really annoying."

"Same here," Robbie replied. No one ever wanted him around.

"I don't think you're annoying. You're kind of…peaceful." Cat smiled at him, hoping that he would smile back. He did, just a little. "I mean, I kind of feel like I can just sit down and relax when I hang out with you. Just talk. And there's nothing wrong with that."

So she liked hanging out with him? Well, that definitely made Robbie feel better. "I don't think you're annoying either." He shoved another cookie in his mouth and looked up from his cup at Cat, and he immediately started laughing. "Cat, you…you have milk on your face."

"Where?" Cat asked, gasping as she touched her upper lip but not feeling anything there.

"Right there." Robbie reached over and wiped the small dot of milk that was on Cat's face. "Got it."

"Thanks." She grinned at him and looked right into his eyes. Robbie felt like she could see right through him, like she knew everything that he didn't want her to know. As he stared back into her eyes, he noticed that there were flecks of green mixed in with the deep brown that made up her eyes. He had never noticed that before.

For a split second, Robbie thought that he saw Cat move closer to him, but he must have imagined it. What use would she have with a guy like him? Instead of thinking too much about it, he leaned closer to her, not really knowing what he was doing. She was surely going to push him away or yell at him or something.

He was only a couple of inches away from her, and then his mom yelled, "Robbie! What are you two doing?"

The moment had been ruined. He moved away from her and sighed, hating his mom with a burning passion. "We're eating Oreos!" he screamed back. Why did she even need to know what he was doing every second of his life?

"What does that mean? Is that some sort of new slang term that I don't understand?"

Robbie rolled his eyes. "No, it's not. Now please, leave me alone."

Cat giggled as Robbie's mom continued to yell, but Robbie just ignored her. "Your mom seems like a nice lady."

"Don't lie to me," Robbie replied. How could anyone think she was a nice woman? He didn't even think that. She was insane.

"She just cares about you."

He sighed. "I know."

If there was anything that Robbie learned from Cat Valentine that day, it was that life was supposed to suck. It was not going to be easy, but why was that a reason not to enjoy it? He had lost a very dear friend, and he felt horrible about it. But Cat taught him how to move on, and that made him become just a little bit stronger.

**SPOILER ALERT FOR NEXT CHAPTER: It involves a Disney movie, my favorite one to be exact. Ten virtual cookies to anyone who can guess what that movie is before the chapter is posted. (:**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, nobody guessed my favorite Disney movie. Although _The Little Mermaid_ is a close second and _Lady and the Tramp _would have been a fantastic one to use, I used something else.  
Just Say'n- Confort...I gave it some thought. Is it like a combination between confront and comfort? That's the only thing I could come up with. :/**

Robbie Shapiro had never been more nervous than this. He was backstage getting ready for the show to begin on Saturday night, and all he could think about was that he would be kissing some blonde whore tonight rather than kissing Cat. He preferred the latter.

"Should we run lines from a few scenes before we go on?" he asked Rebecca, "the blonde whore."

She rolled her eyes at him and flipped her hair, as most girls did when they were in Robbie's presence. "Of course not. I'm the greatest one in this show. I don't need any extra practice. Besides, why would I want to spend any time running lines with you? It's already bad enough that I have to kiss you." She curled her lip in disgust and walked away, her black heels click-clacking as she went.

Robbie sighed and sunk down in his seat. Somehow, that didn't hurt him so much. He was used to it.

And then he heard his phone going off in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was a text from Cat. _Good luck tonight! _Before he could reply, she sent another one. _Whoops! I meant break a leg! (: _

Robbie smiled from ear to ear as he quickly typed back a 'thank-you.' Cat would be in the audience grinning up at him, and he knew that he had to make her proud. This whole performance was for her and only her. Without her, he would be nothing right now.

The stage manager announced that they had five minutes until the show began, so they should get in place. Robbie took his place on stage left, and although he was always told "if you can see the audience, they can see you," he couldn't resist peeking out from behind the curtain to see how many of his friends had actually cared to show up. He saw Beck and Jade sitting close to the back, and as he scanned the rows carefully, he finally spied that beautiful red hair that he loved so much. Cat was smiling about something, but there was no one sitting around her. She was always so happy.

The show started, and Robbie had to pretend to like this witch that was playing opposite him in the play, although it was hard because she was just a terrible brat. He found it easy after a while, though, because he knew his lines and he could imagine that Rebecca was Cat. That made him breeze right through the performance, and he ended up bowing to a standing ovation. Cat was the loudest.

"So what'd you think?" Robbie asked as he emerged from backstage and met up with the director, Cat, Jade, and Beck.

The director hesitated, giving him the most disgusted look that he had seen in a while, worse than Rebecca's. "I've seen worse." With that, he grabbed his script and walked away, no 'congratulations' or 'thank you' or anything.

Cat gasped as she watched the man walk away, and then she turned back to Robbie and smiled her sweet, innocent smile. "Don't listen to him, Robbie. You were fantastic. I could really feel your emotions."

"Thank you, Cat," Robbie replied. That was all he needed to hear.

"So are we going to get something to eat or what?" Beck asked.

Cat nodded and started bouncing up and down, clearly excited about something. "Ooh! We can go to that new place downtown! It's like, a dance club type thing, but it's also a restaurant, and it's for teenagers."

Beck and Jade exchanged a glance, and they seemed satisfied. Robbie would go anywhere as long as Cat was there. So they set off in Beck's car, with Cat humming songs from _The Little Mermaid_ the whole way.

"So did you guys like the play?" Robbie asked Beck and Jade as they sat down at one of the booths in the restaurant portion of the place.

Beck nodded, while Jade only scowled. Sometimes Robbie questioned himself as to how Beck could put up with such a terrible person every second of his life, but he never dwelled on that thought too much. They balanced each other out, and it was apparent that Beck was in love with her, for some strange reason. Robbie was more into the light, bubbly, happy girls, especially the one that was sitting right next to him and singing "A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes."

"Don't you just love Disney movies?" Cat questioned dreamily after a few minutes of silence. "I mean, they all have the happiest endings. The princess always gets swept off her feet by her knight in shining armor, and they always live happily ever after. I wish that my knight in shining armor would come and sweep me off my feet…"

Beck coughed and kicked Robbie from under the table, and Robbie almost screamed out in pain. His scrawny legs were nothing compared to those bulky combat boots that Beck was wearing. And then he understood. He should ask Cat to dance or something. Would that be considered sweeping her off her feet? It could be…

He opened his mouth, trying to form the words that were on the tip of his tongue, ready to roll right off, but then stopped when he saw a guy about their age walking toward the table. Now Robbie wasn't one to judge guys on their appearances, but he was your typical, handsome bad boy that he knew Cat would fall head over heels for as soon as she saw him. There was no point in even attempting to ask her to dance.

"Hey, babe," the guy said, pulling up a chair next to Cat and smiling a flawless smile. Cat giggled. "What's your name?"

"Cat," she replied giddily. She looked like an overexcited schoolgirl. Robbie rolled his eyes.

"Cat. A cute name for a cute girl. I'm Andrew. Care to dance with me?"

Of course, she accepted. Robbie sighed longingly as he watched them walk away, and he knew that he had missed his chance. What if she started dating this boy? What if they fell in love? What if she was gone forever, and it was all because Robbie had waited a beat too long to ask her to dance? What if that was the only chance he had? He had missed it, and now he was sitting here alone, watching the love of his life dancing with another boy.

"I thought you were going to ask her to dance," Beck said.

Robbie gave him a dirty look, like he could murder him right then and there. "I was going to, but then that guy just came out of nowhere. There's her knight in shining armor. He swept her off her feet. And now she'll live happily ever after. She got her wish." He sighed and put his head down on the table, feeling lower than he had in a long, long time. "Maybe I should just curl up in a ball and die."

"You should," Jade said, nodding encouragingly, and Beck slapped her on the shoulder just to let her know that she was being mean. "I mean," she said, rolling her eyes, "wait, do you like Cat?"

Robbie nodded, although he didn't look up from the table. He was too depressed to see his happily-in-love friends right now. He wanted what they had, except without the verbal abuse. Right now, he hated them and Andrew and everyone in the whole world who was happy while he was close to tears.

"Don't tell anybody that, okay?" Beck told her.

"I won't," Jade said, but that didn't sound very convincing.

Sometime after ten or fifteen minutes, Beck and Jade wandered off, and Robbie was left all alone, wondering just why his life was so messed up and miserable. He never seemed to get what he wanted. Why couldn't he have Beck or Andre's life? They always seemed to have things handed to them on a silver platter. He had to fight and claw his way to the top, and he still never made it up the ladder. He was still at the very bottom, right where he began.

After a while, Robbie walked home by himself, not even bothering to say goodbye to his friends. They wouldn't miss him. They were all doing their own thing. As he walked, he started thinking about those Disney movies that Cat seemed to love so much. All of the princes were portrayed to be so handsome, and it had made Cat believe that the only boy who was worthy of her love was a handsome boy with great hair and a charming smile. Robbie hated those Disney movies right now. Andrew was like Prince Charming, and Cat was Cinderella. Robbie was like…the Hunchback of Notre Dame or something along that sort. He would never be enough for her.

Wait…not all Disney romances ended up being between a prince and princess. Aladdin was a thieving hobo or something like that, and Jasmine loved him. Maybe Robbie had a chance. As he thought about this, he decided that on Monday, he was going to get Cat to love him. How he was going to do it, he had no idea. But he was going to do it.

…..

Apparently Andrew was out of school, as Robbie learned the next day when he approached his lunch table. Tori, Andre, Beck, Jade, Cat, and Andrew were sitting there laughing and talking like they normally did. Well, except for the addition of Andrew.

Robbie awkwardly sat down on the very edge of the seat next to Andre.

"You've met Andrew, right, Robbie?" Cat said, beaming at him from across the table. "Oh, wait. You were with us Saturday night. I forgot."

That made his heart drop. She forgot that he had even gone anywhere with her. Apparently she forgot about his performance too, because that's the whole reason they were hanging out that night. Maybe he needed to go back on his plan and just forget about winning her over. He had never won in life. Why would he suddenly get lucky now?

He got up from the table, not so hungry anymore, and stormed inside the school, wondering what exactly he could do to relieve his pain. It seemed like he was at an all-time low. As he walked through the deserted hallways, he found himself going into the music room, the only place where he felt like he could just sit and think. No one else was in there, and for once, the whole school seemed peaceful. This was a rare occasion at Hollywood Arts.

He heard a knock on the door minutes later, and he looked up to see Beck standing there, looking genuinely concerned. "Is it okay if I come in?" he asked.

Robbie shrugged. Even though Beck was his best friend, he didn't feel like seeing anyone right now. But nevertheless, he made room for Beck to sit down next to him on the stage.

"You know, she only met him two days ago. She's known you since grade school." He paused, waiting for Robbie to respond, but he didn't say anything. "You should tell her how you feel."

"Why?" Robbie asked angrily, suddenly letting his emotions pour out. "Why should I do that? Since when have you ever seen Cat go for a guy like me, huh? Andrew is just her type. With his…handsome, bad boy looks, and his…soft brown hair…and his charming smile…"

Beck scooted away from him. "Uh…are you sure it's Cat you're in love with?" he asked uncomfortably.

Robbie rolled his eyes. "Of course, Beck. I was merely pointing out the wonderful qualities of Andrew. How am I ever going to compete with something like that? I'm just a loser. I've never been able to do anything right."

Beck sighed, running a hand through his hair and obviously thinking hard. "You're not a loser, Robbie. Tell her how you feel. Or, do that thing you were telling me about yesterday. I'm sure that would win her over."

Robbie stared down at the floor, his brain working faster than it had in the last couple of days. He had to make a decision. He only had five minutes until lunch ended and the classroom was filled up with more of his classmates. "I'll do it," he said, nodding in finality and smiling a little at Beck. "Thanks."

"No problem." Beck got up and walked out of the room, leaving Robbie completely alone again.

Robbie gulped and looked out the door, making sure that no one was coming down the hallway, and then he sat down at the piano at the back of the room. He had never let anyone know that he could play the piano. But right now, he didn't care. Cat was about to get something that he could guarantee she had never gotten from another boy.

"Knock, knock!" It was Cat. She walked in, or more like skipped in, and dropped her bags on the floor. "Beck told me you were in here. Are you okay?"

Robbie took a deep breath and started playing the tune to the song on the piano, hoping that it sounded alright. And then he began to sing. "I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?"

Cat's jaw dropped in excitement as she walked toward the piano slowly. She eventually ended up going around to the other side of the piano and sitting next to Robbie as he continued.

"I can open your eyes. Take you wonder by wonder. Over, sideways, and under on a magic carpet ride. A whole new world. A new, fantastic point of view. No one to tell us no, or where to go, or say we're only dreaming."

Cat took the next part. "A whole new world. A dazzling place I never knew. But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear that now I'm in a whole new world with you."

"Now, I'm in a whole new world with you."

"Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling. Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky. A whole new world."

"Don't you dare close your eyes."

"A hundred thousand things to see. I'm like a shooting star; I've come so far. I can't go back to where I used to be."

"A whole new world."

"Every turn a surprise."

"With new horizons to pursue."

"Every moment red-letter."

They began to sing together. "I'll chase them anywhere. There's time to spare. Let me share this whole new world with you. A whole new world, that's where we'll be. A thrilling chase, a wondrous place for you and me."

Cat giggled as Robbie played the last few notes on the piano and took a deep breath, turning to face her. "Are you gonna be my Aladdin, Robbie?"

Robbie smiled. She must have liked it. "Only if you'll be my Jasmine."

The bell rang, and Cat then sprang up and dashed to her seat before the other people started to arrive. Robbie smiled as he sat down in the back of the room, far away from her. He had a newfound love for Disney movies.

** Yes, my favorite Disney movie is _Aladdin_. Most people use that for Bade, but I decided to change it up just a little bit. Hope you guys liked! (:**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for the sweet reviews! They make me smile. So after this chapter, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I have writer's block. So if you guys have any ideas, feel free to share them with me. I might think about it. Well, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this and the previous chapter. I was in a Disney mood, and that seems kind of Cat-ish, right? Leave a review, whether you like or not. :)**

Nothing changed. Robbie expected the song to get Cat's attention. And then she would dump Andrew and come running into his arms, and then they could live happily ever after. But, no. Cat was still a beautiful princess like Jasmine, but Robbie was no thieving hobo that she fell in love with. He was just Robbie, that weird, awkward guy that nobody liked.

The only thing that did change was that Cat assumed Robbie liked Disney movies just as much as she did, so she started coming to his house every Saturday night with a different movie for them to watch. Robbie didn't want to sit through a movie when he was so depressed, but then he started to realize that he should stop being a downer and savor this time that he had with Cat. Alone. At his house. No parents or siblings or annoying Andrews to bother them.

"This is my favorite one," Cat said as she sat down on the couch and watched Robbie pop the DVD into the player. "I think it has the best music in it." Tonight's movie was _The Little Mermaid_. "Don't you think I could play Ariel if we did this at school?"

Robbie smiled at her. She was so innocent and simple. It didn't seem like anything ever made her mad. She was just so pleasant to have around. "I think you could," he answered, sitting next to her on the couch. "But Beck would probably be Prince Eric." He rolled his eyes.

Cat pondered this for just a moment, and then she shook her head. "No, I think you could do it. You've already shown them that you're a fantastic actor. Well, I thought you were really good. I don't know why the director didn't like you. Oh, shh! It's starting!"

Robbie was pretty sure that he hadn't been talking, but he only laughed at her shushing him and settled in to watch the movie.

Cat was so into the movie, and every single time that Robbie tried to strike up a conversation, she would slap him on the knee as hard as she could and shush him again. It hurt pretty badly, but he didn't complain. It was good enough that she was sitting next to him.

Cat sang "Part of Your World" along with the movie, and she hit every note perfectly. Robbie watched her in the darkness of the living room for every second that she was singing, and he was falling more and more in love with her as time went by. Why did she have to be so flawless? He felt like he was listening to an angel sing in his very own living room. He couldn't remember hearing any sweeter sound than the sound of Cat's song.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Cat asked at the part where Ariel saw Eric on the boat. Oh, so it was okay for her to start a conversation.

Robbie thought hard about that. He had never fallen in love with someone by simply looking at them for the first time. He had only fallen in like. And that didn't count. "I don't think so," he replied. "It just doesn't seem like you could love someone just by looking at them. I mean, love takes time to build up."

Cat tilted her head to the side, and Robbie could almost see the gears of her mind working hard. "I believe you can love someone at first sight. I mean, sometimes you just get that weird, jittery feeling when you see them. Like, they're the only person in the world and they're the only person you ever wanna be with. You know?"

Robbie knew perfectly well what she was talking about. He felt that weird, jittery feeling every day when he was around her. But she only felt it around guys like Andrew. He hated that he couldn't find another girl to give him butterflies. Someone that would actually go out with him.

"I hate how Disney portrays love," he said suddenly, and Cat looked at him like he had gone insane. He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but now that it was out, he might as well continue his thought. "Love is not perfect. It's messed up and stupid and sometimes hits a dead-end. No one ever gets that fairytale romance that they hoped for when they were younger."

Cat's lower lip trembled as she stared at him, and he knew that she was about to cry. He hated to tell her the truth behind these love stories, but she was living in an imaginary world, one that was never going to exist to her or to anyone else. "Some people do. My grandma met my grandpa, and they fell in love and got married, and they still act the same as they did when they were teenagers. My grandma always told me that my grandpa was her Prince Charming, and she wouldn't have it any other way. What makes you think no one gets a fairytale romance?"

Robbie sighed, wishing that she would just turn around and watch the movie again. But she continued gazing at him with her brown eyes shining with sadness. He hated himself for making her so upset. "I've seen too many relationships fall apart. And I've been alone my whole life. No one has ever wanted me around. And if the person I most cared about would just look at me for a second and realize how perfect we are together, then I would be happy." The last part wasn't supposed to come out either. But it already had, and there was no taking it back.

"Any girl would be lucky to have your love," Cat muttered, not looking him directly in the eye. "You're sweet and funny and kind and smart, and you would treat a girl right. Whoever you end up with is incredibly lucky." She placed her hand over his, and goose bumps immediately started popping up along his arm.

She didn't take her hand off of his. Instead, she left it there and then put her head on his shoulder, cuddling up as close as she could to him and popping some popcorn into her mouth. Robbie sighed and stole a glance at her. She was there, so close to him, and he couldn't have her. These stupid Disney movies were supposed to be pushing them closer, not pulling them apart.

_ There you see her. Sitting there across the way. She don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her. And you don't know why, but you're dying to try, you wanna kiss the girl._

It was as if that stupid crab was rubbing his misery in his face. Robbie was sitting here wanting to kiss Cat more than anything in the world, and that stupid song just had to come on. And then he realized that that stupid song created the perfect moment for him. He would kiss Cat, and she would realize that she loved him, and then they would fall in love and live happily ever after. Yes, that was Robbie's plan. Oh, gosh. He was seriously taking advice from a Disney movie.

"Sing with me now!" Cat exclaimed, singing along with the movie. "Sha-la-la-la-la-la my, oh, my. Looks like the boy's too shy, he ain't gonna kiss the girl. Sha-la-la-la-la-la ain't that sad? Ain't it a shame too bad, you gonna miss the girl."

_Now's your moment. Floating in a blue lagoon. Boy, you better do it soon, no time will be better. She don't say a word, and she won't say a word until you kiss the girl._

It was now or never. He had to make her realize that she loved him. He was staring at her, gulping down that terrible feeling of fear that was rising up inside of him, and finally Cat looked back at him. Her happy, smiling face softened to one of confusion, and surprisingly, she was the one to make the first move. She moved closer to him and pressed her lips against his roughly, and Robbie pushed his body against hers so close that he wandered how she didn't hear his heart thundering against his chest.

Cat wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss even further, and he grabbed her waist and laid her down on the couch. She pulled away from him for just a second to catch a breath, but she returned to kissing him, entangling her hands in his hair.

They fit together perfectly, Robbie thought. Her small frame felt flawless underneath him, and he only hoped that she would see this too. He moved his lips away from her mouth and started to trail kisses down her neck, but almost as soon as it had started, Cat pushed him away.

"Robbie, this isn't right," she said. Her eyes were pooling with tears for some reason, and he hated himself again for making her want to cry. "Maybe we shouldn't do these movie nights anymore." Her lower lip trembled, and she slowly slid her feet into her flip flops on the ground. "I should go."

Robbie watched her as she took her DVD out of the DVD player, put it back in the box, and walked out the front door without saying goodbye to him. The apartment was dark and quiet and filled with a cold air.

Robbie hated Disney movies.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to post again. I had this ready, and I was just being lazy. But anywho... did anybody see the new episode? Is it just me, or was that whole episode finding a way to mock Tori in some way? I loved it. But that has nothing to do with this ff. So whatever.  
Just Say'n- Well, I think it might have been a little bit of both, but probably more so that she's developing feelings for him. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. ;) You guys know about as much as I do.  
I'm not ending the story here, because I have so much more that I want to happen, so I'll say there's gonna be about six or so more chapters.  
Also, I know I said this several chapters back, but I do have a new Beck/Jade fic going up, and reviews on that would be lovely. Thanks so much, all of you, for reading and reviewing. You're the best! (:**

Robbie was currently curled up in the fetal position on the floor of Beck's RV. He had barged in without knocking and just fell out on the floor. He hadn't spoken for fifteen minutes, and every once in a while, he would hear Jade sigh, and he could feel her rolling her eyes behind his back. He didn't care.

"Robbie, um…" Beck began, finally deciding that he had had enough of the awkward silence in the RV. "Do you wanna talk about something?"

Robbie shook his head and buried his face into the carpet. Why was he so pathetic? If something like this was happening to anyone else, they would probably be just fine with it. But no, he had to go crying all over the place and acting irrational. He hated himself more than anyone in the world.

For the past week, Cat had ignored him completely. In improvisation class, she had gotten paired up with him to write a scene and perform it for the class, and she refused to do it. She instead got to work with Tori. She hadn't sat with him at lunch, and because of this, he ended up sitting with Sinjin and his creepy friends. He couldn't even look at her without feeling remorse and guilt. He could hardly eat anything without feeling sick afterwards, and he couldn't sleep because she always invaded his thoughts. Love was supposed to be this wonderful, light, bubbly feeling. But instead it was an empty, hurtful, cold feeling. It pretty much sucked.

He heard Jade breath out exasperatedly from behind him, and he knew that he should feel intimidated. Any minute now, she was going to punch him in the stomach or something. But he didn't feel anything. He just felt numb.

"Robbie, have you ever thought that maybe Cat doesn't love you?" she said bitterly. "Just get over it. There are plenty more girls out there. Now leave."

He looked up at her, knowing that his eyes were red and puffy from crying, but he didn't care. "I know that you've felt unloved before, Jade. What about all those times you and Beck broke up? Don't act like it wasn't pretty much killing you inside."

Beck glanced at Jade, and her face softened as she sunk into the couch, crossing her arms. "Sorry," she murmured, not looking at either of the boys.

Beck slunk into the floor next to Robbie, patting him on the back as he hid his face in the floor again. "Hey, don't worry about it anymore. Cat is just in denial right now. Why else would she be avoiding you? She just doesn't want to admit her feelings." He paused, and a grin spread across his face. "I've got an idea."

"Oh, lovely," Robbie said, sarcasm clinging to his every word. "I'd love to hear this master plan of yours. I'm sure that it would make Cat realize how much she loved me."

"Okay, I get enough sarcasm from Jade every day," Beck said. "I don't need an attitude from you."

"…sorry. What's the plan?"

"Okay, well, you know how you told me that she was pretty much expecting a fairytale love-"

Robbie rose from the floor and glared at him. "I am _done_ with her fantasies. It only makes me feel like crap. Don't even try talking me into any more of that."

Beck sighed. "If you would let me finish…thanks. She and Andrew have a date this Saturday night, as she told Jade this afternoon. Jade and I are going to intercept it, and you set up your own date with her. I'll help you with it. She's into the cliché, sappy love stories, right? Well, you're going to make that date the most cliché, sickeningly sweet date that it could possibly be. She'll love it."

Robbie shrugged. "I dunno…maybe."

"Am I allowed to hurt Andrew?" Jade asked. "Because, you know…that would be fun."

Beck rolled his eyes. "No, you can't hurt him. But you can do whatever else you want to do to make sure that he doesn't find Cat. Does that sound good?" He looked between his girlfriend and Robbie, who still lay sprawled out on the floor.

"Deal," Jade replied, although she sounded a little reluctant.

Robbie sighed. "Fine. Deal."

…

The next day, Robbie found himself sitting in Lane's office staring at the man from across the room. He had been called down to the office during lunch, and Lane looked completely business-like. Robbie hoped that no one had told him about the girl problems that he was facing, because he really didn't think he could talk to Lane about that.

He soon found out that it was not that at all. "Robbie, how many plays have you been in since you got to this school?" Lane asked.

Why did it matter? Robbie didn't need to count the plays that he had been in and just feel bad about himself because the number wasn't very high. It felt like the whole world just loved kicking him in the face. "Three," he muttered, not looking Lane in the eye.

Lane shifted in his seat uncomfortably, and Robbie knew that whatever was coming next couldn't be good. "Right, and only one of those has been a lead part. Now Robbie, I don't want you to take what I'm about to say personally. You're an excellent student and an even better person, but I just want you to consider other options besides acting to do with your life."

That hurt. Bad. He felt like he had been kicked in the throat. All of the wind had been knocked out of him, and he was unable to form words. Lane thought that he couldn't make a living with his acting? How had he even been accepted into this school to begin with if they thought he wouldn't make it?

"So…you don't think I can act?" he managed to get out.

Lane sighed. "I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that…well, I've gotten bad reviews on your acting in the past. But that doesn't mean that you don't have other talents. You could always be a ventriloquist…or…you're smart. You could be a doctor or something."

His dreams had just been shredded to pieces. Robbie could feel every single good thing in his life slipping away from him now, and he couldn't grasp them again. They were being ripped apart and thrown aside, and he was worthless and stupid to everyone in the world. "I don't want to be a doctor. And I'm done with puppets. I want to act. I want to be on stage for the rest of my life."

"A lot of people want that, Robbie. But…" Lane got up from his chair and walked across the room to sit on the couch with Robbie. "I just don't want you to get out there and get your dreams crushed-"

"Too late for that now, isn't it?" Robbie wasn't trying to sound bitter, but he was just so filled up with hatred right now that he couldn't bear it. He got up from the couch and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He could hear Lane calling after him, but he didn't dare look back. He couldn't.

He wanted to run. Run so far away that no one would ever be able to find him ever again. He could live the rest of his life under a rock. He wouldn't be missing anything. No one would miss him. He was worthless.

That's exactly what Robbie did. He ran out the front doors of the school, ran past the parking lot and the food shack and his friends who were calling out to him, and he continued running until he reached downtown Los Angeles. He stopped to take a breath, not realizing how tired he was, and then he started back again. He could have sworn that he heard the click-clack of high heels behind him.

When he reached his apartment building, he decided that he might as well go up to his apartment and lock himself in his room. That's where he belonged right now- hidden from the world.

He opened the door to the apartment and slammed it behind him. He kicked the dining room table and immediately regretted it, because his toe started to hurt very badly. He finally collapsed on the couch and began crying for about the hundredth time that week. He was dying.

After a few minutes, he heard a loud knock on his door, and then someone jiggled the doorknob violently. He waited, wondering who could be at his home at this time of day, but then a voice called out, "Robbie! Let me in!", followed by more knocks.

It was her.

Robbie climbed up from the couch and went to the door, opening it only enough so that he could see her right eye. She pressed herself up against the door as if that would make him open it faster, and she began to speak hurriedly. "Robbie, I saw you come out of Lane's office and you looked really mad and I didn't know what to think so I followed you here and now you look all upset and I need to know what's wrong with you because I've never seen you act like this and I'm really worried."

Robbie sighed and completely unlocked the door before letting her in. "Well, I just got informed that I might as well start looking at other careers because I'm going to fail at acting."

Cat gasped as she sat down on the couch. "That's awful! Why would he tell you that?"

Robbie shrugged and sat down next to her. "I don't know. I guess because it's true."

"Is not!" Cat tried to protest, but no amount of arguing could change Robbie's mind now. He had already convinced himself that he was no good at it, and he never would be.

"Cat, you see the good in everyone. You always do. And I love that about you. But sometimes what you see isn't what other people see. Even if you can see the talent in me, no one else can. I understand that. I mean, I probably don't have any talent. But you know, I just…I might drop out. You know, go back to public school and forget all about show business and that tingly feeling I get when I'm on stage. It's not that special anyway."

Cat's eyes were swimming in tears, and she quickly wiped them away before they rolled down her cheeks. "You can't do that!" she was shouting, almost sounding angry. "I won't let you! You have to stay at Hollywood Arts! It's where you belong, Robbie." Her voice dropped, and then the tears started to fall down. "I don't want you to leave. Because you're one of my best friends, and I…" She paused, as if contemplating whether or not she should say the next part. "I couldn't live without you."

"Hey," Robbie said softly, reaching across and brushing the tears away from her face. "Don't cry over me. I'm not worth it-"

"Yes, you are!" Cat was shaking all over. For some reason, this upset her more than it did him. "You are worth my tears. I don't cry a lot. And right now, all I can think about is how life would be without you to make me laugh at lunch or in class. I can't live without you, and you can't live without me."

It was so true. Robbie couldn't live without her. He took her hands in his and held them close to him. She was still shaking, but she seemed to calm considerably at his touch. "Cat, if you believe that I can do it, then I'll listen to you. I'll try again. I'll prove them all wrong. I'll make my dreams come true. And I'll make your dreams come true too."

Cat smiled through her tears, which made her start sobbing again. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

For the next hour, they talked about their goals and dreams and how they were going to achieve them. Everything seemed fine between them now. It was almost as if nothing had happened. Robbie learned the important lesson of perseverance, and he knew that he wasn't going to give up just because a couple of people thought that he wasn't good enough. He was going to overcome all those obstacles. And it was all because of her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hmm...I don't know how long it's been since I've posted, but I had a really hard time writing this chapter. I was just completely brain dead the whole time I was writing. But I got it finished, and I hope it's not too disappointing. I have a Beck/Jade fic posted now, if anyone's interested in reading that. If not, well...you know. Thanks for reading this one. (:**

"I don't know about this anymore, Beck," Robbie said as he examined himself in the full-bodied mirror in his bedroom. "I mean, Cat told me that tonight was a big night for her and Andrew. I don't want to ruin it for her-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Beck had punched him in the arm, and he almost fell to the floor in pain. "Yes, you do want to ruin it for her!" Beck exclaimed, staring at Robbie like he was an idiot. Beck was seriously starting to act too much like his girlfriend, and that was terrifying. "Look, Jade is with Cat right now, and before Andrew can make it to the restaurant, she's gonna intercept it. It'll look like he stood Cat up. And then you come in and make her feel better. And that's when you take her to the beach and do all that cliché stuff."

Robbie rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I get it. But I just don't want her to get all upset." He was still observing his reflection in the mirror. He had dug through his closet looking for the nicest clothes he could find, and that just happened to be khaki pants and a blue striped dress shirt.

"She won't be upset for too long," Beck replied simply, like it didn't even matter if Cat cried or not. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the new text that he had gotten. "Okay, Jade said, 'Get your ass over here. Cat's at the restaurant, and Andrew just said that he was on his way. I'm gonna go break his leg.'" He sighed. "I hope she's joking."

Robbie hoped that she wasn't joking. Andrew getting his leg broken would put him in the hospital, and that could only mean good things for Robbie. But he didn't think about that too much. He checked his hair, which looked just as unruly as it normally did, but he didn't have time to fix it. He and Beck got in Beck's car and drove downtown to where Cat and Andrew's date was supposed to be, a French restaurant called la Bête Noire.

When they got there, Jade was sitting on a bench outside looking particularly mischievous. Robbie was too scared to ask her what she had done, but that was the first thing that she started talking about when they got out of the car.

"Cat left for the restaurant, so I went to Andrew's house," she said, and Robbie knew that the rest wasn't going to be good. "The door was unlocked, so I went in. He was in the bathroom taking a shower or something, so I put a chair in front of the door. He's locked in." She smiled evilly. "I could have done worse, but…you know. I decided to spare his life."

Beck and Robbie exchanged glances, and then looked back at her. "You're a psychopath," Beck said.

Jade shrugged, and then her eyes fixated on Robbie. "Let me make this clear. I'm not doing this to be nice to you. I'm doing this because I don't like Andrew, and Cat deserves better."

Robbie grinned, and Jade frowned even more. "Aww, you think I'm better than Andrew?" he said. "That means a lot coming from you, Jade. Give me a hug!" He moved forward and threw his arms around her, but she stepped on his foot with her boot, and he backed away. "My bad," he muttered, looking down at the ground.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She grabbed Beck's hand and dragged him over to the front window, and Robbie followed after them. "So there's Cat right there. She's been sitting there for half an hour. She's probably getting pretty restless now, so you can go in. I stole her phone so she couldn't call Andrew."

Robbie nodded as he peered in the window at Cat. She was sitting all alone at a table, and then a waitress walked over to her. They had a short conversation, and then the waitress walked away. Cat checked the pink watch on her wrist, and then she sighed.

She looked incredibly beautiful. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, curled slightly, and she wore a big pink bow that should clash with her hair, but it looked perfect. She wore a white dress with a pink ribbon around the waist that fell mid-thigh. Robbie couldn't stop staring at her.

He was pulled out of his trance when Jade slapped him on the back of the head. "Dude, stop staring! You're being really creepy!" she yelled. "And why are you wearing church clothes?"

Robbie rolled his eyes. "This was the best I could find, okay?" he snapped right back before turning on his heel and walking in the front door of the restaurant.

As soon as he walked in, he was greeted by a man in a fancy black suit, but he just walked past him and in the direction of Cat. She was still sitting at the table, although it looked like she was about to get up and leave. Robbie hoped that his nonexistent acting skills would suddenly kick in so that he could be convincing enough to fool her. He didn't want her to think he was stalking her or anything.

He stared around absentmindedly, and then he acted as if he had seen Cat for the first time that night. "Hey, Cat!" he exclaimed as he slid into the seat next to hers. "I didn't even see you there! How are you?"

Cat looked up at him, but she wasn't wearing a smile like she normally was. She actually looked like she was about to cry. "Andrew was supposed to meet me here, but he stood me up." Her lower lip was quivering, and Robbie suddenly felt guilty for all of this. He hated to see her upset. But he had to continue on.

"Really? I had a date tonight too, but she didn't show up. I was just about to leave."

Cat rolled her eyes. "Don't you just hate it when people don't show up for a date? I mean, this isn't even the first time this has happened to me. It happens with almost every guy I start dating. Maybe we should just stop dating people and be single for the rest of our lives." She sighed and slumped down in her seat a little bit. "Where were you headed?"

"Well, I was just going to the beach. You know, that's where I was uh…that's where I was going to take my date, but she didn't show up, so I guess it was a waste of time setting up our date." Robbie was hoping and praying that this was working. How could Cat possibly believe that he had actually had a date? He hadn't had a date in over a year.

Cat giggled. "I can be your date, Robbie. And you can be mine. We can just go to the beach and you know, hang out. Let's just forget all about love for tonight and spend time together."

Robbie tried to hide his smile, but it was hard. She was coming to the beach with him. He had to make this night as perfect as it could be for her.

…..

Robbie didn't care if he was being too sensitive. Cat seemed to be enjoying herself. He had set up a table in a secluded part of the beach with candles and a personal chef that he had hired for the night. He had made spaghetti, which Cat loved, and Robbie also hired a violin player. It set the mood rather nicely, and he knew that there was no way Cat couldn't fall in love with him after this.

"I kind of feel jealous," Cat said halfway through their meal. She cocked her head to the side and stared up at the sky. When Robbie gave her a questioning look, she went on. "I mean, whoever you end up dating one day is going to be treated nicely. You would do all the sweetest things for her, making her feel like a princess every single day that she was with you. So I guess I'm…jealous…of your future girlfriend?" She chuckled and twirled some of her spaghetti around her fork. "I don't know why guys don't treat me nicely. I feel like I did something wrong."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Cat." She looked up at him, and he took her free hand in his. "There are lots of guys out there that are going to treat you badly. But there's going to be one out there that's going to make you feel special every second of the day. And I promise you, you'll know when you find him." Cat's face softened as she stared at him with her wide brown eyes, and he thought he saw a small flash of realization pass over her face. But that was probably just his overactive imagination…

She nodded. "You're right. You're totally right. I'm only seventeen. I have the rest of my life to find the perfect guy for me. He could be somewhere halfway across the country, or he could be right in front of me and I don't even know it yet." She didn't give Robbie time to respond to that. Instead, she threw her fork down and got up from her chair. "I'm full. Let's go for a walk."

Robbie wasn't done with his food, but he'd rather be wherever she was. He got up as well and followed after her. She took off her high heels and thrown them down somewhere, cursing Andrew for not showing up at the restaurant. She took her hair down and let the curls fall loosely at her shoulders, and then she mumbled some other mean things under her breath.

"What if somebody really liked you, but they were too afraid to tell you because they didn't know if you liked them back or not?" Robbie asked shakily. He was taking a risk. And he wished that he hadn't now, because his stomach was churning. "Would you want them to tell you?"

"Of course I would!" Cat exclaimed. "I mean, there's always a chance that I feel the same way. There's no use in keeping all those feelings pent-up. They need to let those feelings out in the open."

He was about to take another risk. He was getting sicker and sicker by the second, and he could almost swear that his heart had risen into his throat. But he couldn't stop the words that came out of his mouth next. "I like you, Cat."

She was silent for a second as she stopped and stared out at the ocean, and then she turned to look at him. She was smiling like she had received the best news in the world. "I like you too, Robbie." She patted him on the arm, and then she skipped down to where the ocean was splashing up on the sand. "I love the feeling of wet sand between my toes."

Robbie was almost hurt that she had gotten the wrong impression of his words, but then again, he couldn't help but grin at her simplicity. "Me too," he replied, taking off his shoes and tossing them up the beach.

They were silent for a long time. Cat was starting to shiver as a wind blew past them, and Robbie wished that he had a jacket that he could drape around her. She looked down at the sand and started tracing shapes into it with her toes, and Robbie watched as she spelled out her name and his. Almost immediately, it was washed away with the ocean.

"Robbie?" she asked, looking up at him. "What's one thing you really don't like about me?"

Robbie was shocked by the question. It didn't seem like something she would ask. He had to think about it for a second. There wasn't anything that came to mind that he particularly disliked about her. Sometimes he got annoyed when she did stupid things, but it wasn't anything that he absolutely despised about her.

"You let people push you around," he settled on saying, and Cat gave him a questioning look. "I mean, people mistreat you all the time, and you don't do anything about it. I just wish that you could stand up for yourself."

Cat didn't seem offended by the statement, but she wasn't happy about it either. She didn't make a comment about it. She just rushed forward into the ocean until it came up to her knees. Robbie ran after her, not caring if his "church pants" got ruined by the salty water. She almost tripped, and he grabbed her hand to steady her, and he didn't move it. She slipped her fingers into the spaces between his, and they just stood there. It was weird, but Robbie didn't mind. They were both messed up teenagers that were lost in the world.

"It's raining," Cat murmured, still looking at the dark water that she was standing in.

Robbie looked up at the sky, but there was nothing there. The moon was still shining along with the stars, not one cloud to cover them up. "I think that's the ocean, Cat," he responded.

But sure enough, five minutes later, a crack of thunder sounded. It was as if a giant hole had been ripped in the sky. Rain started to pour down on them, and soon, both of them were soaked from head to foot. Robbie wondered how Cat could have possibly known that a storm was coming before there was any warning. She was just that amazing.

She rushed out of the ocean, which was sending large waves their way now, and she lay down on the soggy sand, letting the rain soak her even more. She didn't have a care in the world. This nasty weather was probably just like paradise to her.

Robbie lay down next to her, although he couldn't exactly see anything through the think layers of rain. He knew that she was there when he heard her sniffle and let out a weak sob. "Cat, don't cry." He had to yell over the loud noise that the weather was creating.

"I've always wanted to kiss in the rain," she answered back, still crying. "But no one ever gave me that."

Was she asking him to kiss her? Robbie really didn't know what he should do about that. She was probably just pointing out facts. She couldn't possibly want him to kiss her again. Not after what happened last time…

"Have you ever dreamed about a kiss in the rain?" she asked. "You know, the really romantic ones that you see in the movies?"

The rain seemed to let up a little bit, and Robbie could finally see her. She was sitting up and staring at him, her eyes shimmering with sadness. "I have," he said. He didn't have to yell over the noise anymore.

This time, he really had no control over himself. She had to love him. There would be no other reason why she was acting this way toward him. He leaned forward and pulled her body close to his, his lips meeting hers for about the fifth time in the last two months. She didn't push him away or anything this time. Her wet fingers were lightly tracing his cheek, and he could have sworn that he tasted her salty tears as they ran down her face. Why was she crying? She was just fine a little while ago…

He ran his hand through her drenched hair, tossing it off her shoulders and pushing it away from her face as he opened his eyes and pulled away from her. She moved toward him again, but she simply put her forehead against his and whispered, "Thank you."

"Cat?" Robbie looked up and saw a figure standing above them. He followed the figure up until he reached the face, and he almost got sick when he saw that it was Andrew. "What are you doing? I thought we had a date tonight?"

Cat grimaced as she got up from the ground to face him. "You stood me up. And Robbie took me to the beach for dinner. And we had fun."

"I didn't do that!" he yelled. His tan face was only inches from hers, and it looked like he probably could have slapped her. "Your psychotic friend locked me in my bathroom! I've been looking for you all night. But if you feel like you have better things to do…" He glanced at Robbie and almost burst out laughing. "Wow, desperate for action, aren't you?"

"It's not like that," Cat said. "I thought that you didn't want to be with me…I'm sorry…"

"Save it, babe." He turned on his heel and started up the beach, and without even looking back at Robbie, Cat darted after him.

Robbie just sat in the sand, completely bewildered. She had done it again. She had made him believe that she actually cared. He was glad that the rain started to fall harder a few minutes later. It would mask his tears from the world.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Sorry, this kind of took a while to upload. I didn't mean for it to be this long, but I just couldn't think of how I wanted this chapter to go. Then it came to me, and well...this resulted. I don't know if it's good or not, but it got to the point that I wanted to get to. There's only going to be two or three more chapters to this one, and I think another Cabbie is coming up. Not sure yet, though... Well, whether you like it or not, you can leave a review, good or bad. (: **

Robbie didn't go to school the following Monday, claiming that he was incredibly sick and couldn't get out of bed. His mom bought it until she walked into his room that afternoon and found him playing video games and looking healthier than ever. She dragged him out of bed the next morning and made him go to school, muttering under her breath about how disappointing he was to her the whole time.

When Robbie first walked into the school, he felt like everyone was staring at him. Did everyone know that he had been rejected yet again and by one of his best friends? Maybe it was just his overactive imagination. Hopefully he was imagining the whole thing…

When he walked into Sikowitz's class, all of his friends immediately approached him and began asking questions about why he was gone yesterday. Beck and Jade seemed to be the only ones that understood.

"I was sick," Robbie replied, which wasn't entirely a lie. He was sick of dealing with his pathetic excuse of a life…

"I'm glad you're feeling better!" Cat chimed in, her voice sounding just as angelic as it did the last time Robbie saw her. But he didn't pay any attention to it. He wasn't going to fall under her charm ever again.

As the bell rang, everyone rushed to their seats before Sikowitz came in through the back door of the classroom. He was drinking from one of his coconuts, because supposedly they gave him visions. For a second, he just stood on the stage, his eyes closed and his mouth moving without making any sound. When he opened his eyes, everyone was staring at him as they always did when he did something random.

"I had a vision." And that was all he said. He didn't elaborate on the vision, just moved to the back of the classroom and continued drinking his coconut milk. "Jade, Robbie, Cat, Andre, alphabet improv. Start with the letter W."

They all moved up to the stage, Robbie dragging behind as he started to realize that he had to act out a scene with Cat. As Cat and Andre moved to the other side of the stage, Jade pulled him aside quickly and squeezed his arm hard, which caused him to flinch in pain.

"Cat likes you, and I know she does," she said, gripping his arm harder. "I have a plan, and you just have to follow after me, okay?"

Robbie was scared of what this plan might be, and he found himself not caring whether Cat liked him or not. He had fooled himself too many times, and he didn't want to fall under her trap again. But if Jade had a plan, he would let her go through with it. He agreed with a simple nod, and then they moved to the center of the stage where Cat and Andre were already standing.

"Well, I've got some news for you," Jade said, clapping Cat on the shoulder a little too hard. "You won't believe it."

Cat cocked her head to the side. "Xylophones are being used in music class now?"

"Yes, but that's not the news," Jade replied, glancing at Robbie. He knew then what she was about to do, and he wanted to do something about it. He had to get a line in there somewhere…

"Zebras are taking over the city?" Andre threw in from behind Cat. He was the only one on stage that had no idea what was really going on.

"Actually, no," Jade answered, smirking. "I was going to tell you that Robbie likes you, and you've been too stupid to notice."

Robbie could feel everyone's eyes on him. He hated being the center of attention sometimes, especially if it was about something like this. "But that's a lie," he murmured, glancing around the room carefully to make sure that no one was laughing at him. They weren't…yet.

"Can't be," Jade said, now turning to him. "Because you tell me and Beck about it all the time."

"Don't make up stuff, Jade," Andre said, raising an eyebrow and staring at her like she was crazy. They weren't even supposed to be playing themselves… He was completely confused.

"Everyone knows that Robbie and I are just friends," Cat responded, followed by a nervous chuckle. She didn't like being put on the spot about this kind of stuff either…

"Fine, if you won't listen to me, I'll let him tell you himself." Jade smiled mischievously as she looked at Robbie again.

Robbie could feel sweat beginning to drip down his face. He thought he was about to throw up. Cat turned her big brown eyes on him, and he could see the fear and anxiety mixed together. She obviously wanted him to say that he didn't care about her as more than a friend.

"I don't understand what's going on," Andre said.

"Just shut up and let Robbie talk," Jade told him.

All eyes were on Robbie again. He gulped as his eyes met Cat's again. This had to be the longest game of alphabet improv that had gone on without someone being eliminated… "Kill me now," he managed to say. He was feeling incredibly uncomfortable, and he asked himself why he even bothered showing up at school today.

"Listen, Robbie," Cat began, like she was talking to a crying child, "I like you, but only as a friend."

"Man, can somebody please explain this to me?" Andre asked. He still looked bewildered.

"No, Andre. It doesn't matter," Jade said. She was looking at both Robbie and Cat, wondering who was going to speak next. Both of them looked like they were going to be sick.

"Oh, well. I guess I don't care if you like me or not," Robbie muttered, not meeting Cat's eyes. _Just leave_. His brain sent the message to his legs, and before he knew it, he darted out of the room, not looking at anyone as he ran out into the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

"Whoa," Sikowitz said as the door shut. "That was intense."

…

Robbie had no idea where he was going. The whole school seemed blurry as he rushed through it, not looking to his sides or behind him, but only moving forward. Why did he always run whenever he felt like this? Why couldn't he just confront his problems as they came his way? He wasn't brave enough, obviously. He had been rejected and kicked around his whole life, and he was too afraid to stand up for himself.

He couldn't go home. His mom would be there, and she would surely yell at him for not being at school. He could always go to the park. Surely no one would think to look for him there. But his legs had other plans. They were taking him farther away, somewhere that absolutely no one would ever check. He was going to the darkest, most secluded part of the beach that he could find, even more secluded than the place that he and Cat went to the other night.

He found the spot, a small, sandy spot that was close to a pier. It was surrounded by tall grass and sat far away from the ocean, but he still had a great view of the deep blue waters. He could gaze into the ocean and watch as seagulls swooped overhead, looking for prey. He could remember when things were simple, when he didn't feel like someone was constantly punching him in the stomach. His heart broke even more almost every day, and he felt awful.

He tried his hardest to convince himself that he didn't care about her anymore, but he knew that it was a lie. He had been lying to others, and now he was lying to himself. He started to hate himself more and more, and he wished that for just a while, he could be in someone else's shoes. Someone like Beck, or maybe even Andrew. He wished that he could just leave this dismal life behind and trade it in for something better.

As he stared out at the ocean, his thoughts started to crash into each other over and over again. He couldn't tell one from the other, and he just felt like curling up in a ball and dying, not even saying goodbye to his friends. Yes, death would be a sweet relief right now. He did curl up in a ball on the sand, still staring out at the ocean, but he knew that he wasn't patient enough to let death come over him. And besides, he knew that that wasn't what he really wanted. What he really wanted was for things to go his way just once. Just once. That's all he asked for.

Cat wasn't the only one who didn't like him. No, she wasn't the only one that was ripping his heart right out of his chest. It seemed like the whole world was against him. No one thought that he could make it as an actor. They all thought he was going to end up on the streets, probably. His dreams had been crushed, and he knew that it was only going to go downhill from here. His mom seemed to hate him more that anybody, and she was forcing him to drop out of Hollywood Arts next year. She didn't have any faith in him either. His friends didn't seem to care either, because none of them had even bothered to text or call him to ask if he was okay. They were probably enjoying themselves without him being there to annoy them.

He checked his phone and saw that it was 3:30. He had been sitting on the beach for hours, not even realizing that he had been there for that long. He didn't want to move, but he had to. He had to make himself get up, make himself go home to his disappointed mom, make himself continue through this terrible life.

Robbie got up from the ground, wiping the sand off of his clothes and heading off in the direction of his apartment building. He was too cowardly to attempt a suicide. No, he knew he could never do that. But he had to somehow get rid of all of this crap that was building up around him. He had to run away from it all. He had to…

And that's exactly what he did. He went home and, making sure that his mom was preoccupied, packed up all of his necessities in a small bag. He scribbled a short note to his mom, apologizing for his sudden actions, and then when his mom left to go to the grocery store, he left too. He didn't even look back as he left downtown Los Angeles. Where he was going, he had no idea. But all he knew was that wherever he went, it had to be better than this.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! It's been a while. But I've been trying to keep up with three stories, and it's close to exam time at school. So updating won't come as fast, I'm afraid. There's only going to be two more chapters after this, I'm afraid. But I still have a Beck/Jade fic that definitely needs reviews, if you're interested. ;)**

**So I realize in the last chapter in the alphabet improv I skipped a couple of letters. Whoops. Didn't mean to do that. I'll fix as soon as possible. **

**Okay, so I was gonna mention this in the last chapter, but I forgot. So "Ice Cream for Kesha"...was I the only one that thought the Cat/Robbie opening scene was absolutely adorable? I mean, I think they're gonna end up getting together in the end. I hope so. (:**

**I'll stop now. Read and review. (:**

The first sign that something was horribly wrong was when Cat walked into school the following day in jeans and a t-shirt. She _never _wore jeans and a t-shirt.The second sign that something was wrong was when she walked in and saw Beck standing in the middle of the hallway staring at her like she had just killed a person.

Cat raised an eyebrow at him. "Something wrong?" she asked, although she should have already known what the problem was.

"Robbie ran away," Beck said plainly, pulling out his cell phone. "He sent me a text this morning. It was really, really long, but he basically told me that he felt completely worthless and he wanted to start over somewhere else."

"Because of me?" she questioned, gesturing to herself. It was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard of. No guy had ever done anything special for her, except for Robbie. He was the nicest guy in the world, and she had run him off. Why couldn't he just go find another girl to be with? Oh, that's right. He didn't just like her. For some reason, he was in love with her. She didn't deserve it.

"No, not just you. But you're a large part of it." Beck sounded completely disgusted with her, and she knew that he had every reason to. It was all her fault…

"Did he say where he was going?" She was trying to keep her voice steady, but inside, she was completely coming undone. Why had she become such a horrible person?

Beck shook his head. "Nobody knows where he went. His mom left, and I guess he left after her. She called the police, and they're out looking for him. I don't know where he would want to go…"

Cat felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. This was probably the guiltiest she had felt in a long time. She could have been nicer about her feelings toward him. And she didn't have to call him out in front of the entire class…

Her feelings toward Robbie…did she really only see him as a friend? No, she saw him as much more than that. She had known that for a really long time. But she was so _stupid_, and she kept going out with guys that would only date her because they thought she was easy. She didn't reject Robbie because she was afraid of ruining their friendship. No, she rejected him because of her _reputation_. Why wouldshe, Cat Valentine, date a guy like Robbie Shapiro? She would never, and that was the point.

And then somewhere along the path of their friendship, she fell in love. Completely, head over heels in love with him. And she was so shallow and self-centered that she overlooked it, worrying too much that people would think she was weird. Why would people think she was weird if she dated Robbie? There was nothing particularly embarrassing about Robbie…or, maybe everything was particularly embarrassing about Robbie. But why did she care? What did it matter what other people thought? What others completely hated about Robbie, Cat loved. Right down to that stupid puppet.

She was shallow, and she was disgusted with herself for being so. Why did she have to be so arrogant? She had screwed up big time, and she knew that she had to fix it. She had to get Robbie to come back…

"So what are we supposed to do?" she asked Beck, who was still looking rather upset with her. Could he not tell how much this was killing her?

Beck shrugged. "I don't know. I tried to call him, and he wouldn't answer." He paused for a second. "He loved you, Cat. A lot. But you just kept dating guys that would cheat on you and lie to you and make you feel like crap. You didn't have to go out with Robbie, but you sure as hell could have been nicer to him."

Cat couldn't take it anymore. Tears were streaming down her face, and the words were piercing into her like a knife. She closed her eyes for a second, balled her tiny hands into fists. And then she exploded.

"I KNOW, BECK! OKAY? You don't have to make me feel even worse about it. I know what I did, and I know that I caused him to leave. I know I led him on, but it wasn't like I was wanting to. I was…I was scared. But now I know not to be. So if you want to know the truth, here it is. Are you ready? I. LOVE. ROBBIE SHAPIRO. Is that what you wanted to hear? Was that clear enough? Do I need to repeat myself?"

Tears were falling even faster now, and she tried to wipe them away. They kept coming, and she bit her lip hard, hoping that that was enough to stop them from coming. But it wasn't. Everyone in the hallway had stopped to stare at her, and she wished that they would walk away. Some of them were staring at her, and others were snickering and pointing. Little Cat Valentine had finally snapped. And she didn't care.

"Is that really how you feel?" Beck didn't even seem affected by the explosion. He looked just as nonchalant as he always did.

Cat sighed, and when she was finally able to calm down, she nodded. "I love him. I've been in love with him since freshman year. And I'll admit that I was stupid and stuff, okay? Can we please just go look for him? I need to know that he's okay."

Beck nodded. "Sure. We can go today if you want. But why don't you try calling him first? He might answer for you."

Cat gulped and pulled out her cell phone. Most of the people in the hallway had started to move on, but some were still curious as to what was going on. She tried to put all the people in the world out of her mind. Who cares what they think? She dialed Robbie's number and held it close to her ear, trying to keep her breathing steady. _Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up._

"Hi, you've reached Robbie Shapiro! I'm not available right now. Leave a message!" And then a computerized voice. "To page this person, press 1 now-"

She felt like throwing her phone, but instead, she waited for the beep to come. She would just leave a message. But as soon as the beep sounded, she was lost for words. What was she supposed to say over stupid voicemail? "Hi, Robbie. It's Cat. Call me back when you get the chance…" And then she hung up.

"He didn't answer," she murmured, putting the phone back in her pocket. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Let me go find Jade," Beck said. "And then we'll leave. Start thinking about places he might be." With that, he walked down the hallway, leaving Cat completely alone in a sea of prejudiced faces.

They were going to find Robbie. The police were out searching for him as well. He would be at home and safe in the next day or so. And then she would tell him exactly how she felt. And maybe he would still return the feelings.

"Ready?" Beck asked when he came back with a very annoyed-looking Jade.

Cat nodded, and as he headed toward the door, she held up a hand to stop him. "There's something I have to do really fast." She pulled out her phone and dialed a number, waiting for someone on the other line to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Andrew? This is Cat. I was just going to tell you that we are officially over. I'm never going to date you again, so don't try. Have a nice day." And with that, she shut her phone and smiled.

For the first time in two months, she actually felt happy.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, guys! This is the second to the last chapter of this story, but don't worry. There's another Cat/Robbie coming up really, really soon. It'll be called "No Strings Attached." Ten virtual cookies to anyone who guesses what it's going to be about. :P Well, I do believe this is one of my best chapters, not to brag or anything, but it made me smile while I was writing. And I hope it makes you smile too. Read and review. And hopefully, smile. (:**

Robbie sat on the couch at his cousin's house and stared at his cell phone. _One missed call: Cat (: 1 new voicemail_. He sighed and dialed his voicemail, and he listened to the simple message that she had left. "Hi, Robbie. It's Cat. Call me back when you get the chance…" He expected her to be upset by his absence, at least to care a little bit that he was gone. But she didn't seem to even know that he was gone. And if she did know, she probably didn't even care. Her life was probably better now that he wasn't around bugging her. He quickly deleted the voicemail and stuffed the phone back in his pocket.

"So, Michael, thanks for letting me stay here for a while, considering all that happened," Robbie said when his cousin walked back into the room with drinks. Robbie's mom and Michael's mom had gotten into a fight at Thanksgiving about something that happened in high school, and they hadn't spoken to each other since. No one would think to check Michael's house for Robbie, so he thought it would be best to go here.

"No problem," Michael said, waving it off. "I know you've been having a lot of problems lately." He paused as he sat down on the couch next to Robbie. "So listen, I'm having a party tonight. And there's gonna be girls there. Lots and lots of girls. So we're gonna find you another one and take your mind off of Cathy."

"Cat," Robbie corrected him. And just as he spoke, he felt his phone buzzing. He didn't want to answer, but he pulled it out and looked to see who was calling anyway. _Cat (:_

He held the phone in his hand, tightening his grip as it continues to vibrate, trying to resist the urge to answer. And just when he thought it was never going to end, the phone stopped making noises and sat still. He loosened his grip and watched as her named transformed into _One missed call_. He gulps back the desire to call her back, and then he places it back in his pocket.

"Why did you ignore that call?" Michael asked.

Robbie shook his head and got up from the couch. "It was nothing. I just don't want to talk to anyone right now." He then walked away to the guest bedroom in the apartment.

…

Cat sighed as she hung up her phone. She was directed to voicemail again, and she wasn't going to leave a message this time. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk to her. "He didn't answer," she said from the backseat of Beck's car. "What are we supposed to do? We don't know where he could be."

"Is there anywhere that we know to check? I mean, where does he like to go?" Beck asked, glancing back at Cat. She should know somewhere to check for Robbie. She probably knew him best.

Jade released an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes. "I don't know, but I'm getting really bored. Can we just go home now?"

If Cat was a violent person, she would have hit Jade right then and there. But she didn't. Because she was sweet and innocent, and because Jade was her best friend. But she wasn't going to let her get by with the comment. "Jade, why do you have to be so mean all the time?" she yelled, louder than she had yelled in the hallway. She was feeling feisty today. "Robbie could be hurt or possibly even dead or he could be missing forever and you don't care! Robbie is supposed to be your friend. He's always been nothing but nice to you, and you act like you don't even care that he's gone?" She bit her lip to try to fight back the tears that were threatening to pool over, and then she sighed and crossed her arms.

Jade had jumped at the harsh sound of Cat's voice. It was the first time that she had ever heard Cat sound really, truly angry. She frowned, and when she knew that Cat was finished, she said, "Cat, don't be mad, okay? I don't want Robbie to be missing forever or anything like that either, but I mean…I just think that he can take care of himself." She paused and looked down at the floorboard. "Besides, the police are looking for him, and we don't even know what we're doing. It's kind of pointless to be driving around LA-"

"No, it's not," Cat argued. Her brown eyes were gleaming with anger, and her face was burning red hot. "He could be anywhere, and you don't even care." She rolled her eyes. "Just don't talk to me."

Jade unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around to the backseat where she could fully face Cat. "Do you wanna know the truth, Cat? The truth is, I…" She hesitated, lowering her voice down to a whisper. "IcareaboutRobbie."

Cat raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Jade rolled her eyes and looked up at her again. "I care about Robbie, okay? He's a good friend, and all those times that I insulted him, I was just…I don't know. Sometimes I don't realize that I'm doing it, and I get annoyed easily, and-"

Cat grinned knowingly and leaned back in her seat. "I knew it. You're not as tough as you make everyone think you are."

"She really isn't," Beck said.

Jade glared at Cat for a second, trying to come up with something to say to her, and then she settled on punching Beck in the arm. "Shut up."

Cat smiled again and giggled a little to herself as she stared out the window at all the buildings passing by. And then she decided to call Robbie again. He couldn't ignore her forever.

…

Robbie stood in the corner of his cousin's apartment that night sipping on a bottle of water. All of Michael's friends that had come over for the party were all college age, like Michael, and they were all completely drunk. Robbie had never liked the taste of alcohol, so when Michael came up and offered him some tequila, he declined, preferring to drink his water instead.

Over the sound of the loud, pulsating music, Robbie felt a vibration in his pocket. At first, he didn't want to pick up, but as it continued, he sighed and pulled it out. _Beck_.

He rolled his eyes, but he decided to answer it. "Look, Beck, I told you yesterday that-"

"Hah! I got you! You answered!" It wasn't Beck's voice on the other line. Instead, it was Cat's shrill, excited voice. "So Robbie, listen. You need to tell us where you are because we're gonna come and rescue you-"

He hung up. He doesn't know why he did it, but he did. He loved hearing her sweet voice, but he still remembered everything that she had done to him. It still hurt just as much as it did yesterday. He stuffed the phone back in his pocket for about the fiftieth time today and looked up just in time to see a blonde girl sauntering over to him.

"Hi," she slurred, taking another sip from her cup. She smelled like she had dove into a keg. "You must be Michael's cousin. He told me all about you, but he never said anything about how cute you are." She smiled and hiccupped as she ran her hand through his hair. "So you're cute right now, and I'm incredibly drunk. You wanna make out with me?"

Any normal boy would say yes, but Robbie was far from normal. She was leaning in toward him, only inches away from his mouth, and all he could see was Cat. He sighed and pushed the girl away from him. "I think I need some fresh air," he said, and, not waiting for a response, walked out the door.

…..

It was nighttime. Beck had gotten hungry, and now they were sitting at a restaurant at the far side of LA. Cat was looking around the place like she expected to find Robbie there, and she refused to eat when the waitress came to take their orders. Instead, she settled on dialing and redialing Robbie's number from Beck's phone, even though she knew that he wasn't going to answer. She even tried calling from Jade's phone, but she knew that Robbie most definitely wouldn't answer a call from Jade.

When Beck and Jade were in the middle of their meal, Cat sighed and looked out the window of the restaurant. And she was glad that she looked up, because there was Robbie, passing by on the sidewalk and looking like he was the most miserable person in the world.

"Robbie!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and scrambling to the door. She threw it open and ran outside, looking in both directions for him. But he was nowhere to be seen. "Robbie?" she called into the night, but there was no reply.

He couldn't have gone far. She just saw him pass by, and it only took her a few seconds to get outside. She glanced at Beck and Jade, who were both giving her questioning looks from inside, and then she waved at them and walked down the street, searching for Robbie on her own.

…..

Robbie didn't know where he was walking. He didn't care. He wanted to go back home and see Cat again, no matter how much he hated her right now. He could learn to accept that she didn't love him. He could stay friends with her and date someone else…like Trina or someone. He shuddered at the thought of that. He would never fall for Trina Vega ever again.

And then he heard a soft voice call out in the night. "Robbie?" It sounded just like Cat, but it couldn't be her. She didn't know where he was. It had to be his subconscious speaking to him. So, shaking the thought of her from his head, he kept on walking.

His phone vibrated yet again, and he saw that instead of a call, it was a text. From Cat. _I saw you walking down the street. How'd you get away so fast?_ He didn't reply, because he knew that she had found him. He hadn't been imagining her. She was there, really close by, and he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

"Cat?" he called, his voice shaking badly as he spoke. He licked his lips and waited for a reply, but there was none. He had lost her.

…

Cat continued on down the street, listening for the slightest sound that would give away Robbie's hiding spot. But she only heard the wind and the hiss of an alley cat. She wound her way through backstreets and alleys, calling out for Robbie and never getting a reply. She texted him time and time again, and he wouldn't answer. She knew that he was avoiding her, but after sending thirty texts, she wondered if she was ever going to hear from him again.

And just as she started to feel hopeless, she regained hope again when she looked up and saw his tall, lanky body at the end of a deserted street. She grinned to herself and called out to him, and he looked up to see her running toward him, her sneakers that she never ever wore smacking against the smooth sidewalk. He smiled at her and started toward her as well, and for a second, it felt like everything was in slow motion, just like in the movies. But then Cat picked up her pace, and she ended up running right into him, sending him toppling to the ground.

"Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she said as she held out her hand and helped him up. "I was just excited to see you. You've been ignoring my calls all day, and-"

"Sorry," Robbie said, straightening his glasses and running a hand through his hair. "I didn't really want to talk to anyone today, especially you because of everything that happened…" He trailed off, not meeting her eyes.

Cat sighed and grabbed his hand. This was the moment. She had to do it now. All of those feelings that were eating her up inside were begging to come out, and she had to set them free. She smiled and gulped down all of those terrible feelings, putting the rest of the world out of her mind, and said it.

"I love you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Last chapter! I'm a little sad about this ending, but guess what? There's another Cat/Robbie fic coming up. It'll probably be posted tonight or tomorrow, depending on my mood. It'll be called "No Strings Attached." Look for it, and leave a review. Also, I have a Beck/Jade fic up, and I might start on a Cat/Andre. Not sure about that, though. Anyway, reviews are lovely. Thanks for reading! (:**

Robbie stared at Cat with wide eyes, trying to comprehend what he just heard come out of her mouth. He had to be dreaming. He was still at his cousin's apartment, probably in the guest bedroom fast asleep. Cat had no reason to come looking for him…

But this had to be real. It was too vivid. "What?" he managed to say. She couldn't love him back. It wasn't possible.

"I love you," Cat repeated breathlessly, still recovering from her quick run down the street. "I was stupid for ever dating anyone else, because all the time, I knew it was you that I really wanted." She looked at him with her wide brown eyes reflecting the light of the moon, and she smiled a little. "Do you still love me?"

Robbie sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Of course I do. I can't just forget about you in one day. I mean…" He looked down at the sidewalk and shuffled his feet nervously, searching for words that he could say to her. "How long have you known?"

"Since freshman year," Cat replied, not meeting his eyes. "But I kept dating other guys because…I don't know, I was worried about reputation and-"

"So I embarrass you?" Robbie asked, raising an eyebrow. He laughed a little, although it was cold and mirthless. "Thanks. That means a lot to me. You know, I might just go back to my cousin's apartment…" He started to walk away, but Cat blew out an exasperated breath and grabbed his arm to pull him back.

"That was the old Cat," she said quietly. "I'm new now. I was…so stuck-up, you know? I didn't even realize that I was. And I was letting what others think about me affect my decisions. I'll never let that happen again, I swear. Because the only thing I really ever wanted was to be with you." She gripped his hand tight in hers and smiled at him again. He couldn't deny her now…

"You embarrassed me yesterday, Cat," Robbie said, jerking his hand away from her. He suddenly felt cold and uncomfortable, and he wanted to intertwine their fingers again, but he wasn't going to let her win. Not yet… "You told everyone you didn't like me, and nobody has ever liked me. I don't like being called out in front of everyone."

Cat sighed. She should have known that this would be brought up. She didn't exactly plan a response for this. "I panicked, okay? I didn't know what to do. You can't be mad at me for that. Look, Robbie, when we go back to school, I'll be sure to tell everyone that we're together, and I don't care if they whisper about us behind our backs-"

"I never said we were together." Robbie's voice had turned cold again. "What makes you think that we're ever going to be together?"

"But you said you still loved me," Cat said. "I…I just assumed that…" Her lower lip poked out into a pout, and she crossed her arms. "Phooey."

"But I never said we _weren't_ together," Robbie told her. He took a step toward her awkwardly and patted her on the arm. "I want to be with you, Cat."

Cat perked up a little, and she gripped his hand again. "I swear, I will never ever ever ever ever hurt you again-"

She was cut off when he pressed his lips against hers and pulled her tiny body as close as it could go to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair a little, and then he began to trail kisses down her neck. She groaned in pleasure, and then his mouth connected with hers again. It felt like an eternity before he finally pulled away from her, putting his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips.

"Kiss me again," she replied, and he did.

"Ugh, gross. Get a room," someone said from behind Cat, and Robbie looked up just in time to get hit in the face with a dinner roll.

"What the hell, Jade? Seriously?" he said. "There's no reason to be throwing any food."

"So I assume you guys are together now?" Beck asked, ignoring his girlfriend's irrational behavior.

Cat quickly turned to face her friends, linking her hand with Robbie's as she did so, and then looked over at him. Were they together? She wasn't really sure if he even wanted to be after what she did to him.

"Yes, we are," Robbie replied, nodding at Cat and smiling. She giggled happily and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Aww! That's awesome! I'm so happy for you guys!" Jade exclaimed, sarcasm dripping from her every word. She frowned and rolled her eyes. "Can we please go home now?"

"Um…can I talk to Robbie about something really fast?" Cat asked. She glanced at Beck, and he shrugged and pulled Jade away so that Cat and Robbie could be alone.

Cat turned toward Robbie and started fiddling nervously with her hair. He was staring at her and waiting for her to continue, and she took a deep breath and spoke. "So…I never told you this, but Lane told me my sophomore year that I was more than likely not going to get anywhere with my acting. And I cried and cried for days after that, and when he told you that you wouldn't make it either, it upset me even more. Because when he told me that, I refused to listen to him. I kept going. But it really, really hurt you. And now you're dropping out, and-"

"I'm not going to drop out," Robbie assured her. "Even if my mom tries to force me, I won't. I'll be there at graduation, and as soon as I'm out of there, I'll be looking for auditions. Because if there's anything you've taught me over the past few months, it's this: I don't need to give up just because a few people tell me I'm not worth anything. If it's what I really want to do, I'm going to do it. And I really want to act for the rest of my life. I'm going to continue chasing my dreams, and you'll chase yours too. Don't worry about what other people think."

Cat nodded and grinned. "Of course I won't care what people think anymore. It doesn't matter." She paused for a second and looked down the street where Beck and Jade were waiting for them. "Do you wanna go home now?"

Robbie nodded and took her hand in his, holding it tightly as they walked together. He didn't ever want to let go of her. She was his, and he was hers, and he hoped it stayed like that forever. He was going to chase his dreams, and she was going to chase hers. He didn't care what the world thought about him anymore. He knew where he was happiest, and it was here and now. He had realized what life truly was about. And it was all because of her.


End file.
